Landrieu scores counseling extension for Isaac victims

Wednesday

Jan 30, 2013 at 8:17 PM

A $4.5 million grant will help extend crisis counseling services for families affected by Hurricane Isaac.

Nikki BuskeyStaff Writer

A $4.5 million grant will help extend crisis counseling services for families affected by Hurricane Isaac.The Federal Emergency Management Agency grant, announced last week by U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., will extend the crisis counseling assistance and training program for Isaac victims for another nine months. The counseling program, administered through the Department of Health and Hospitals’ Louisiana Spirit program, sends counselors into affected communities immediately after disasters to assess needs and provide behavioral health services.That includes basic triage, going door to door and checking in with families to determine their needs. Workers also provide grief intervention to families who have experienced damages or lost their homes, counseling to those who need it and referrals for longer-term help.“The massive strain a disaster brings is more than just financial,” Landrieu said. “This program aims to combat the disruption to everyday life that can harm the emotional and mental well-being of individuals and their families in the wake of a disaster. Through counseling and emotional support, disaster survivors will be better able to cope and adjust to the recovery process.”About $1.5 million from the grant will go to the South Central Louisiana Human Services Authority, the local office responsible for administering mental health and addiction programs and services for people with disabilities, said Executive Director Lisa Schilling. The human services authority provides those services for Lafourche, Terrebonne, Assumption, St. Charles, St. James, St. John the Baptist and St. Mary parishes.Louisiana Spirit was created in response to Hurricane Katrina. Immediately after the hurricane, an “initial services program” is approved for 60 days to provide emergency counseling to victims. Since the program’s activation on Sept. 1, the Louisiana Spirit team has provided 3,265 individual counseling sessions to storm victims, said Stephany Hillman, a psychologist and program director.The programs have reached 4,128 people in group counseling and public education settings. In addition, program officials have made contact with 7,083 people to offer services and passed out more than 28,000 brochures.“We are reaching people,” Hillman said. “The data really speaks to that.”The program uses flood maps to determine which neighborhoods likely received the greatest impact from storms to target neighborhoods that need help. Then workers go door to door to check on people and offer services, Hillman said.Needs change as time passes, Hillman said. Immediately after a storm people want to be connected to vital resources, such as food and shelter. Louisiana Spirit tries to help get those primary needs met.Afterward, they reach out to victims to address mental health issues and offer emotional support and coping skills.The program targets vulnerable populations including the elderly, children, teenagers, people with mental illness and disabilities, and those who have had to evacuate from their homes.Workers also visit schools and nursing homes to teach coping skills and disaster preparedness.Most areas affected by Isaac have been repeatedly hit by disasters in recent years, including several hurricanes and the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf, Schilling said.“Some of these fishermen literally just got their equipment going again,” Hillman said. “This is a population that’s been traumatized time after time.”She added many people are still struggling to recover and clean up from Isaac in the worst-hit locations.Anyone interested in the program can contact the South Central Louisiana Human Services Authority at 876-8929. You can also contact the Louisiana Spirit hotline at 1-877-500-9997.

Nikki Buskey can be reached at 857-2205 or nicole.buskey@houmatoday.com.